# Best Car Battery to Purchase



## David

I have a 2006 Honda Accord V6 with an Interstate MT-35 Battery and after 4 years it is dead. 

Any recommendation on a good brand? I was hoping to get a Motorcraft since I have has nothing but good luck with them. Ford doesn't provide corss-reference info for non-Ford vehicles, but the local dealer said they use Autocraft and Optima batteries from Advance Auto Parts for non-Fords they work on.


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## GURPS

I always got Sears Diehard Gold ....

Honestly all batteries come off of something like 4 assembly lines in the US.

Interstate, Exide, Johnson Controls



https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/2095207/Who_makes_Motorcraft_Batteries


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## glhs837

I like AGMs. But do buy one from a common place. Duralast Platimums are what I"m putting in the fleet around here. Three year full replacement, the older BMW convertibles require them due to the vibe environment, the 2015 Jeep requires it for the extra beating the Engine Start Stop system places on it. Tried the AC Delco AGM once, thing lasted only a year, and getting Amazon to replace it was a bit of  a pain.


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## Chris0nllyn

Stick with Interstate.


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## GWguy

I've never had a problem with WalMart (EverStart) batteries.  When the battery in my vehicle dies, I get a replacement from WalMart.  It's usually still in the vehicle when I sell it, and I keep vehicles for many years.  My 2000 GMC pickemup was 13 when I got rid of it, went thru one original battery and one WalMart.  If you have a problem, there's always a store nearby.


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## PeoplesElbow

Yep,  almost all batteries are made by only a couple companies that make them and I have had great luck with the under $100 Walmart Everstart Max batteries. 

The most important part when you buy a battery,  look at the date sticker on it,  if it is over a couple months old skip that battery.  Sealed flooded batteries do have a shelf life and it is reduced from just sitting around.  If it was the kind you have to put distilled water in yourself,  those have an almost infinite shelf life as long as there is no water in them.

Walmart is great because they deal in such high volume.  Not often would I recomend a Walmart part for a car.


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## nutz

David said:


> I have a 2006 Honda Accord V6 with an Interstate MT-35 Battery and after 4 years it is dead.
> 
> Any recommendation on a good brand? I was hoping to get a Motorcraft since I have has nothing but good luck with them. Ford doesn't provide corss-reference info for non-Ford vehicles, but the local dealer said they use Autocraft and Optima batteries from Advance Auto Parts for non-Fords they work on.


Of all the choices available, pick one you think  youll be happy with and go for it. The industry moved from raw to recycled material and performance went down while retail prices have gone up.









						Could a New Battery Recycling Technology Push Smelting Out?
					

The new process is positioned as a cheaper, cleaner alternative to smelting.




					www.waste360.com
				












						After Doe Run: Former company town adjusts to a new reality
					

The air is cleaner in Herculaneum since the smelter shut down. But as efforts continue to clean up after decades of pollution, the city and school district grapple with the




					www.stltoday.com
				




““There’s a tremendous amount of electronics onboard that requires electricity even when the key is out of the ignition — something called ‘keep alive memory’ — so the battery is quietly draining while you sleep.”
Even benign components such as the car’s transmission, which used to be just a case full of gears, now draws a tiny current to feed its own computer” https://www.wheels.ca/news/car-batteries-aint-what-they-used-to-be/

And as bonus reading https://www.thenewamerican.com/usne...melting-plant-to-impact-ammunition-production


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## David

I guess I'll stick with Interstate. Costco has Interstate batteries (at least that's what the label says) for half the list price.

As far as Wal-Mart, I had one in the Honda and the F150 and they were nothing but trouble. The F150 was constantly going dead (I don't drive it much). Put a Motorcraft in and no problems since. Watched a really good Ford mechanic on Youtube who has his own shop now and he said the number one problem battery he has seen throughout his career has been the Wal-Mart batteries. My experience backs him up.

Thanks for the feedback!


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## GWguy

Gotta go with what you're comfortable with.


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## PeoplesElbow

Maybe I have been lucky,  I have gotten 4-5 years out of about every battery that I have ever bought.  

One thing I do know is that Toyota truck owners claim you can never get a battery as good as the OEM serviceable battery that comes with the truck, the community on the internet almost exclusively goes with AGMs or Walmart Everstart Maxs.  I never really thought much about it, but I got at least 7 years out of both of the Toyota OEM batteries that came in my trucks and I did not keep up with the water filling like I should have.  There is a lot of hate for the replacement sealed batteries from Toyota.  

I would also expect someone that sells $150 batteries to vehemently claim that the $100 ones aren't any good.


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## baxter

A new fully charged one


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## GWguy

PeoplesElbow said:


> ...Toyota truck owners claim you can never get a battery as good as the OEM...


My neighbor has a Prius that uses a smaller 45Ah battery just for starting.  For whatever reason, he took it out and replaced it after a few years, gave me the old one.  I've been using it in my solar project and as far as I can tell it's as good as a new battery.


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## LightRoasted

If I may ...



David said:


> *Best Car Battery to Purchase*


Too funny. Did a search on this exact phase and a plethora of stuff came up. I have heard good things about Deka batteries out of Pa.
Closest dealer I found: J&R Supply Corp. DEKA Battery, 4824 Crain Hwy, White Plains, MD 20695, (301) 870-5000


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## David

PeoplesElbow said:


> Maybe I have been lucky, I have gotten 4-5 years out of about every battery that I have ever bought.


I have a WalMart lawn tractor battery that went 8 years, so go figure. A factor may be that combined, I doubt if I drive 6,000 miles/year, so the vehicles sit w/o a lot of driving. But, again, the Motorcraft has had no issues in the same circumstances.


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## PeoplesElbow

David said:


> I have a WalMart lawn tractor battery that went 8 years, so go figure. A factor may be that combined, I doubt if I drive 6,000 miles/year, so the vehicles sit w/o a lot of driving. But, again, the Motorcraft has had no issues in the same circumstances.


Batteries can be weird.  I spent over a month on travel,  got back and my coworkers battery was dead but my car started right up.  Two days later my battery in my Ford (OEM one) was completely dead wouldn't charge or anything.


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## PeoplesElbow

GWguy said:


> My neighbor has a Prius that uses a smaller 45Ah battery just for starting.  For whatever reason, he took it out and replaced it after a few years, gave me the old one.  I've been using it in my solar project and as far as I can tell it's as good as a new battery.


Is it a serviceable battery?  I have heard you can empty some,  clean them some how and fill them back up and they are almost new but it is just more trouble than what it is worth, messing with acid and all.  

In the 70's JCPenny offered a "lifetime battery" back when they  had an auto department,  you see stories on the internet of people that are still getting free batteries because of this poor decision from JCPenny.


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## GWguy

There's youtube vids showing how to remove the acid and refill with a mixture of epsom salts, and that's supposed to revive a stone cold dead battery.  Maybe I'll try it someday when I have nothing else to do and a battery I don't care about.

Here's one I saw recently.  This guy is kinda crude with his methods, and I wouldn't follow his lead, but it is interesting.  Something I've also seen recently is using 12V capacitors to replace a battery.


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## GURPS

also Pulse Charging  is supposed to help revive heavily sulfated batteries


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## PeoplesElbow

Ran across this, heat kills.


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## GWguy

My OEM battery is 5 years old this month.  Gonna crap out any day now....


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## glhs837

Jeeps been a bitch on batteries.


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## calvcopf

I have tried many brands of car batteries over the years and all have performed about the same. It is really hard to find a better deal than the EverStart batteries sold at Walmart. 

$50-$75 on average for battery at Wally World vs $80-$125 for a comparable battery at Auto Zone.


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